ROMANCE IN LITERATURE : Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native

Romance, being at the heart of many truths and tragedies, has often cropped up in classic literature. In this segment of Romance Through the Ages, we will explore a film adaptation of a classice literature piece which is currently available at many video rental stores and libraries.

RETURN OF THE NATIVE : A Made for TV Movie Based on Thomas Hardy's Novel of 1878 1994, Republic Entertainment, Inc. 90 Mins., Rated PG Rating : Four and One-Half Hearts/Five

Starring Catherine Zeta Jones as Eustacia Vye; Joan Plowright as Mrs. Yeobright, Clive Owen as Damon Wildeve; Ray Stevenson as Clym Yeobright, and Claire Skinner as Thomsin Yeobright. Directed by Jack Gold.

Alone on the English Moors, a beautiful girl with a flightful imagination despairs over the pettiness and boredom that runs rampant in the small village of Egdon Heath in 1842. Desparate to be delivered from her current station, Eustacia Vye throws her hands toward the sky and prays for a love that will give her wings and let her fly away.

Unfortunately, Eustacia's request, however earnest, seems unlikely to be granted. A small village full of superstition, Egdon Heath has little use for witches---which was what they considered beautiful, raven-haired Eustacia Vye.

To make matters worse, when Thomasin Yeobright's marriage to Damon Wildeve falls through, the townspeople blame Eustacia for bewitching the groom. The real reason for the cancellation of the marriage is an invalid license, but groom jumps at the opportunity to once more try and entice Eustacia to run away with him.

Unsure as to whether Wildeve is the man she has been searching for, Eustacia declines his invitation, but continues to suffer speculation and accusation from the village folk.

After spending five years in Paris, Clym Yeobright returns to his home and mother in Egdon Heath and finds something there that he has never before felt---love. After the face of a beautiful, dark-haired girl with pagan eyes appears to him like a vision in the mist of the moors, he becomes obsessed with finding her. He searches everywhere for her face, and dis- covers her---Eustacia Vye--behind the character mask of a young soldier.

Clym's mother claims that a spell has been cast upon him and begs her son to stay away. Yet, he cannot. Return of the Native is a touching story of a woman who wants desperately to leave her home and man who desperately wants to return, and the love that they share as their lives pass.

Thomas Hardy's characters are utterly gripping and sensational. The story he weaves and the resulting romance is highly believable, richly-colored, and filled with the trinkets of hidden meaning and foreshadowing.

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